Patriots take aim at Houston Texans, No. 2 seed

Wednesday

Dec 5, 2012 at 6:00 AM

The Patriots, as always, had their sights set on winning the AFC East since the first day of training camp for the simple reason that division champs automatically make the playoffs. On Sunday, the Patriots clinched the division title for the 10th time in 12 years while extending their winning streak to six games and improving their record to 9-3.

By Rich Garven TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

The Patriots, as always, had their sights set on winning the AFC East since the first day of training camp for the simple reason that division champs automatically make the playoffs.

On Sunday, the Patriots clinched the division title for the 10th time in 12 years while extending their winning streak to six games and improving their record to 9-3. That mark is tied for second in the AFC with the Baltimore Ravens, two games behind the Houston Texans.

But with four games to go and well positioned to finish with one of the two best records in the conference, which brings with it substantial perks, the Patriots claim they aren’t turning their attention to the race for AFC supremacy.

“We’re just trying to get ready for Houston,” coach Bill Belichick said yesterday during a conference call, referring to Monday night’s matchup with the Texans.

Finishing with the best record in the conference brings with it a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Finishing second gets you a bye and at least one home game.

The Patriots have played in five Super Bowls in Belichick’s first 12 seasons. They were a No. 1 or 2 seed each time.

“We can’t do anything about anybody else,” Belichick said. “All we can do anything about is the New England Patriots. So, we try to just concentrate on what we have to do and it will all get sorted out in the end.

“We still have a quarter of the season left to play. We have a lot of football left, we have to keep working on the things we need to work on and not worry anybody else.”

After Houston, the Patriots host San Francisco (8-3-1), are at Jacksonville (2-10), and finish up at home against Miami (5-7).

The Texans have a home-and-home series with Indianapolis (8-4) sandwiched around a home game against Minnesota (6-6).

If the Texans defeat the Patriots, they would have to collapse after that to not earn the top seed.

If the Ravens and Patriots finish with the same records, the tiebreaker goes to Baltimore due to its one-point win over the Patriots in Week 3.

If the Patriots beat Houston, it will only ensure they remain in the race for the top seed.

There’s no debate that playing one less game and getting an extra week of rest is a definite benefit for the top two seeds. Home field is less of an advantage than you’d think.

Although NFL home teams went 8-2 in the playoffs last year, they were only 25-25 the previous five seasons. That said, the home team has won eight of the past 10 AFC Championships, including six straight.

“I think winning games has a lot more to do with how well you play than where you play them — not that it isn’t nice to be at home and all that,” Belichick said. “But it’s a lot better to play well.

“I don’t think the home field helped us too much against Arizona (a 20-18 loss in Week 2) because we didn’t play well. It’s not anybody’s fault but our own. We just didn’t do a good enough job as players and coaches to win the game.”